Archive for July, 2007

Today on Earthbeat host Daphne Wysham talks to two groups who are planning for America’s powerful future.

The United States could eliminate almost all of its carbon dioxide emissions by the year 2050, without using nuclear power — that’s the conclusion of a groundbreaking new report. Author Dr. Arjun Makhijani says that recent technological breakthroughs mean that it won’t cost an arm and a leg to eliminate both carbon dioxide emissions and nuclear power. Makhijani is the president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research. His report, Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free: A Roadmap for US Energy Policy is a joint project of IEER and the Nuclear Policy Research Institute.

One way to refocus America’s energy policies is to take the project on with the verve and committment the nation gave to the war effort in the 1940s. In their new report ‘Rosie Revisited,’ David Merrill, executive director of GlobalWarmingSolution.org and Dr. Charles Hall, of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science & Forestry, provide a way for America to lead the battle against global warming.

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Today on Earthbeat – we investigate the effects that global warming is already having have on the world’s massive tourism industry. While islands begin to disappear and coastlines erode, a macabre type of tourist is emerging – people burning through thousands of gallons of jet fuel – just to be the last to see disappearing places. Joining host Mike Tidwell in the studios is Jonathan Tourtellot. He’s the director of the National Geographic Center for Sustainable Destinations and the geotourism editor for National Geographic Traveler magazine. Joining the conversation from his office in Ann Arbor, Michigan is Will Weber, the director of the adventure travel outfitter, Journeys International.

One group that is combining direct political action with their love of America’s playgrounds is the National Parks Conservation Agency. Their director of Clean Air Programs, Mark Wenzler, discusses their recent report: Unnatural Disaster.

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Environmental activists are already declaring victory in changing the environmental policies of some of the candidates in the 2008 Presidential race. The election is over a year away, but they say now is the perfect time to hold candidates’ feet to the fire on global warming.

Host Daphne Wysham holds a round table discussion of the all the people running, and thinking of running in the upcoming Presidential race. Joining her on the telephone from Seattle, Washington is David Roberts, a staff writer for the online magazine Grist. In the WPFW studios in Washington, DC is the director of Greenpeace’s US Global Warming Campaign, Chris Miller – Cathy Duvall, political director for the Sierra Club – and David Sandretti, communications director for the League of Conservation Voters.

To view the League of Conservation Voter’s scorecard on the ’08 candidates, go to The Heat is On.

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Summer camps are often a great way for kids to experience the outdoors. Matt Olear of the Friends of the National Zoo speaks about the many programs his group has for kids, and he’s joined by Stephanie Helms, a 16-year-old nature camper who’s just returned from studying massive loggerhead sea turtles.

But kids don’t have to leave their backyards to get some nature. The Casey Trees program gets city kids outside taking care of the urban forest. Casey’s Director of Education and Training – Robin Dublin – is joined by two team leaders in the project, Donyell Little & Chris Holmes.

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"Earthbeat is one of the best informed and most relevant programs to
focus on climate change. Wysham consistently zeroes in on critical (if sometimes under acknowledged) aspects of the climate
crisis. And unlike many other environmental programs, which tend to
ghettoize the climate issue, Earthbeat is the only program I know that
treats this enormous challenge with the thoughtfulness, honesty and
depth it deserves."